Tree Or A Wood: Reading The Chinese Culture Behind The Joy Luck Club

Besides the Contents, Notes and Bibliography, etc.,this thesis includes Introduction, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three and Conclusion. The Introduction makes a brief summary about the research on Amy Tan and her novel The Joy Luck Club among the academic circles both at home and abroad. Looking through the studies about The Joy Luck Club, we can find that, although the research achievements are plentiful, up till now, there is still not a relatively systematic comment on the role of traditional Chinese culture in the success of The Joy Luck Club, nor on Tan's misleading the Westerners about traditional Chinese culture. Therefore this thesis aims to do some work from this perspective, hoping to deepen the researches on Amy Tan and The Joy Luck Club. Chapter One probes how Amy Tan tactfully used such common Chinese cultural components as mahjong, Feng Shui, the Five Elements and astrology to arrange the novel's plots, disclose the development of conflicts and depict the characters. Chapter Two tries to illustrate how Amy Tan used some particular elements like filial piety, fear of spirits and so on to vivify the story and attract thereaders. Chapter Three explores whether the descriptions about traditional Chinese culture in The Joy Luck Club mean missing the woods for the trees, why the western readers are interested in Amy Tan's descriptions and how Amy Tan may mislead them. The Conclusion is: The descriptions about traditional Chinese culture in The Joy Luck Club are only a kind of not seeing the wood for the trees. Due to ne-sided picture and her heavy paintings on some particular components in traditional Chinese culture, Amy Tan has, to some extent, misled the Westerners.